National African American Reparations Commission To Convene in New Orleans

National African American Reparations Commission To Convene in New Orleans

Actor/Activist Danny Glover to Participate in Milestone Events

The National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) will hold two major events in New Orleans—a benefit reception on Thursday, Nov. 30 and a town hall meeting on Saturday, Dec. 2.

“Reparations is an issue whose time has come,” said Dr. Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and NAARC convener. “In November all roads will lead to New Orleans, which, for a few days, will become the epicenter for the growing U.S. and global reparations movement. This gathering will build on recent developments in this global movement including the recent launch of the Center for Reparation Research at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.”

Established by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century in April of 2015, NAARC is comprised of a group of distinguished professionals and activists from across the U.S. with outstanding accomplishments in the fields of law, medicine, journalism, academia, history, civil rights and social justice advocacy.

Actor and activist Danny Glover is among the national and international dignitaries scheduled to participate in the New Orleans gathering. Congressman John Conyers, dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and sponsor of HR-40, the congressional bill to assess reparations proposals, has also been invited to address the gathering. Others participants include Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission and vice chancellor/president of the University of the West Indies from Jamaica; Mireille Fanon, daughter of Afro-Caribbean psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon; and Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

Samia Nkrumah has become a vocal advocate for reparations, particularly focusing on engaging Africans from the continent in the movement.

Several commissioners will participate in this milestone gathering including: Kamm Howard, national co-chairperson of the National Coalition for Reparations for Blacks in America (NCOBRA); Nkechi Taifa, a veteran reparations activist and human rights lawyer; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Black America’s leading political-economist and president emeritus of Bennett College; Dr. Iva Carruthers, general secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor 2 Conference; Dr. Patricia Newton, CEO of the Black Psychiatrists of America; former Detroit city councilwoman, Rev. Jo-Ann Watson; Yvette Modestin, founder and executive director of Encuentro Diaspora and an IBW board member; and Dr. V.P Franklin, editor of The Journal of African-American History (JAAH) at the University of New Orleans.

A delegation of Afro-descendants from Colombia will also participate in this historic gathering and will present a report on racist attacks and human rights atrocities being suffered by the large Black population in that South American country. A number of Afro-descendant leaders and organizations from Colombia have expressed an interest in forming a National Reparations Commission to seek compensation and repair for enslavement and generations of crimes perpetrated against their communities.

The New Orleans events will kick off with the benefit fundraising reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, at the Conference Center of Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). The reception will feature presentations by Glover, Nkrumah, Fanon and Dr. Malveaux, along with cultural performances by Sullivan Dabney, Jr. & Muzik Jazz Band, Chief Shaka Zulu of the Yellow Pocahontas and Michael “Quess” Moore.

Susan Henry, general manager of WBOK Radio, will serve as the emcee. The reception is being hosted by Dr. Clyde Robinson, director of the Center for African and American Studies.

The main event takes place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec 2 in the auditorium of the administration building on the campus of Xavier University. The town hall meeting will feature a keynote address by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, who has emerged as the voice of the global reparations movement, as well as remarks by Nkrumah.

The keynote address and remarks will be followed by a listening session where the audience will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on reparations and provide suggestions and recommendations to the NAARC’s preliminary 10- Point Program for Reparations for African Americans.

The benefit reception and town hall meeting are free and open to the public, but participants are encouraged to come prepared to make tax-deductible donations to support the work of NAARC.

For further information call 504-363-1106 or visit www.ibw21.org and the NAARC Facebook page.